CREATIVE AND SYSTEMATIC PROBLEM SOLVING  

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

How should we solve problems?  What’s the difference between solving familiar and unfamiliar problems? In this unique course, students will learn to co-develop the guiding principles of good problem-solving by examining common problem-solving methods such as design thinking and business process re-engineering.  Students will learn the importance of comprehensiveness, creativity, and convergence in problem-solving, based on insights gathered from the fields of knowledge management, creativity, Total Quality Management (TQM), design thinking and problem-solving.  By learning the language and terminologies common in problem-solving, participants will learn the principles and skills for problem-solving.

Upon completing the program, participants should be able to

• Understand and able to apply common problem-solving tools and techniques;
• Develop the guiding principles of good problem-solving;
• Link the guiding principles of good problem-solving to problem-solving skills.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome message from Dean of NUS SCALE	Tutorials conducted over Zoom

PRE-REQUISITES

There is no pre-requisite for this course. Students need to be well-versed in written and spoken English.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

University students in all disciplines interested in a management consulting career and have interest in solving problems in unfamiliar areas.

MODE OF DELIVERY

18 hours of online programme, including synchronous lessons, tutorials and a final project presentation.

MODE OF ASSESSMENT

• Project work
• Group presentation

Associate Professor Chai Kah-Hin, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management, Faculty of Engineering Dr Chai Kah-Hin is currently the Director of Continuing Education and Training, Faculty of Engineering, and an associate professor at the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management, NUS. He joined the National University of Singapore in 2002. He received his PhD degree from Cambridge University in the area of international manufacturing. His work experience includes management consulting (with Deloitte Consulting, 2000-2001) and semiconductor manufacturing (Motorola Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 1992-1996). His research has appeared in top engineering management journals such as Journal of Product Innovation Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Technovation, Journal of Service Research, European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Service Industry Management, and Managing Service Quality. Dr. Chai is an editorial board member for the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and Journal of Service Theory and Practice. His current research interests include industrial energy efficiency, new product/service development and knowledge management.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Successful participants who complete all requirements of the programme including passing the assessment will receive a certificate of completion issued by NUS SCALE.
 
A sample of the certificate of participation can be found here: 


Participants from the project team with the highest score for the group project will also receive a commendation letter. A sample is shown below:

UPCOMING SESSIONS

For enquiries, please contact us at sgprogrammes@nus.edu.sg.